


((DISCONTINUED)) A Deadly Mission || ETM AU

by HuntDue



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No shipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuntDue/pseuds/HuntDue
Summary: Techno Blade, Wilbur Soot, Philza, and Tommy Innit are members of the well-known mercenary group known as the Elite Team. Together, they completed missions many thought were impossible. They worked closely with King Jschlatt, as well as another well-known mercenary group called The Trio. There were rumors that they were friends with the criminal group known as the Dream Team, but those rumors were never confirmed.Their life was as normal as it could be, until the leader of The Trio, Skeppy, got some bad news. The Elite Team and the Trio received an important mission soon after by King Jschlatt himself. A new threat to the land,  someone who aimed to take down the entire kingdom, and it seemed they might have enough strength to do so.Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad if it was someone else... anyone else... but them.~~~~~Credits/info in notes!
Comments: 40
Kudos: 268





	1. Character/World Information & Warnings

**Author's Note:**

> AU belongs to me! While I'll try to explain everything in the story, if you want to know more about the AU, check out my Tumblr mainlytechnotrash :)  
> Edited by @/BlizzardVeteran on Wattpad!  
> Story originally posted on Wattpad, but after Wattpad kept messing up I decided to finally post it here

This chapter includes IMPORTANT trigger warnings and information about the world and characters, as this is a medieval fantasy AU :)  
If you're from Tumblr or Wattpad, you can skip this chapter. 

TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
Violence, blood, fighting, death, arguing, family issues, cussing, and other related subjects. I'll try not to go too descriptive with the violence/gore but it will still be said. I will put the needed trigger warnings before each chapter if any are needed. 

DISCLAIMER:  
All events in this story are purely fictional. This is based on their personas, but some friendships or family relationships have been changed or altered for the purpose of this story. This story will NOT contain romantic or sexual themes. All ships in this story are purely platonic. This is not meant to be offensive to anyone, especially those mentioned in the story. If any of them are uncomfortable with it, I will take it down.  
Also, I have not taken any sword or archery classes, so I apologize if the fighting scenes are off or incorrect.  
I take constructive criticism :) 

WORLD/CHARACTER INFORMATION:  
Medieval fantasy AU!

Elite Team: Techno Blade, Philza, Wilbur Soot, Tommy Innit  
Trio: Zak/Skeppy, Darryl/Badboyhalo/bbh, Vincent/A6D  
Dream Team: Clay/Dream, George, Sapnap  
(No, I will not be using Techno's real name for this story :) )

Elite Team and Trio are mercenary groups, the Dream Team is a criminal/thief group  
Jschlatt is the king and Connoreatspants is his right-hand-man

~~~~~

In this AU, Vincent (A6D) is blind but has light perception. This means he can see light sources and silhouettes, but he can't see colors or details (think of Molly Burke). He wears a blindfold during the day because his eyes are sensitive to light (and sunglasses don't exist yet). He takes it off at night though, and he can handle light from fire. 

UNIQUES: Uniques are special features or abilities only about 20% of the population is born with. It can be something simple like wings or a tail, or something more complex like magic or shapeshifting. (knockoff quirks except I've never watched bnha)

Most people with magical uniques have a special ability, sometimes made up by the person with the unique. This special ability, though, tends to drain a lot of the energy of the user, and sometimes their strength as well

Some people born with uniques are also born with something called "Second Chance Uniques" (SCUs). These SCUs are still related to their main unique, but can only be activated in a life or death situation, where the host is on the verge of death (in rare cases, it's activated whenever someone the host is close to is in danger). These SCUs are often put into one of two categories: fight or flight. While some people have SCUs that increase their strength for fighting, some people have SCUs that increase agility in order to get away. Which one the host is born with isn't always dependent on the host's personality.

Because it can only be activated in a life or death situation, most people don't know if they have an SCU or not. Some people can go their whole life without ever knowing.

SCUs typically ignore injuries or fatigue the host has until the host is safe. Afterward, the host loses 99% of their energy, usually making them pass out right after using it. Pain and fatigue also come back once the SCU has been used

In very rare cases, someone can be born with no unique but still have an SCU, though the range of these SCUs are a lot smaller than the range of normal uniques and SCUs. People with an SCU but no unique usually have some sort of shapeshifting ability.

\---

Techno Blade's unique is known as "blood magic". It allows him to morph and harden his own blood. Whenever he comes into contact with other's blood, whether it be directly on his skin or just on something he's wearing or holding, he grows stronger. His eyes temporarily glow red and become a shade darker and redder. However, with each drop of blood, he also loses some emotion. When his eyes are blood red and he's at his max strength, he becomes almost completely emotionless with nothing but a lust for blood. The amount of blood he needs to "absorb" in order to get to his max strength is equivalent to the amount of blood in the average fully grown adult. His strength and emotions get reset whenever he goes to sleep. Every time he comes into contact with blood, he gets nightmares of the person's most recent memories (thank you anon for the nightmare idea). 

His special ability is known as the "Blood Angel". With two slits on his back, angel wings made of blood form on his back. He only uses this whenever he knows him and his team can't win their current fight or get out any other way. This drains his energy and badly weakens him. 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

Philza's unique is a large pair of dark grey angel wings. He has a wingspan of about 10 feet (3 meters). His average flight speed is equivalent to the average human running speed. 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

Wilbur's unique is the ability of hypnosis. He can hypnotize one person through eye contact and make them do whatever he wants, as long as he maintains eye contact with them. Whenever the person is out of hypnosis, they have full memory of what happened while they were hypnotized. 

His special ability is the ability to hypnotize multiple people at the same time. He can hypnotize up to 35 people with his guitar and singing. This drains his energy and he becomes less aware of his surroundings 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

Tommy's unique is the near-immunity to any mental uniques or curses. While being faced with a mental unique, it has no effect on him and he can continue on like he was, usually confusing the unique user. However, the following night whenever he goes to sleep, he has a nightmare about whatever unique was attempted to be used on him, no matter how many times its been used on him. An example of this is Wilbur's hypnosis unique, which has no effect on Tommy, but Tommy's had multiple nightmares about being hypnotized into doing something he didn't want to do thanks to Wilbur's multiple attempts of trying to hypnotize him. 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

Skeppy's unique is called "World edit". He can shift the ground underneath him and his opponents, making it rise or fall to his will. 

His special ability is the ability to turn part of the ground around him into lava. This drains his energy. 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

George's unique is the ability to change the environment around him. He can change what the world around him is made of or the climate of the area around him for a short period of time. 

His special ability is the ability to control someone for a short period of time. This drains his energy, and any injuries that the person he's controlling takes is given to him instead. 

Unknown whether he has an SCU or not. 

Dream's unique is illusion magic. He can make people see or think things that aren't real. 

His special ability is the ability to make one of his illusions real for a full day. This drains a good bit of his energy. 

He is rumored to be the only person ever with two uniques, but no one knows for sure. Uncertain whether his "second unique" is his SCU or not. He confirms nothing. 

Badboyhalo has no unique, but because he's a bad liar, his friends know he has an SCU. However, he refuses to give any information on what his SCU is. 

Sapnap and A6D have no unique. Unknown whether they have an SCU or not. 

FRAGMENTS:

Fragments are small crystals that can be a variety of different shapes. They hold either a part of or a full unique, and when "unlocked", can grant the user ability to use this unique. What unique is inside the fragment is represented by the color, but a lot of colors have a variety of meanings.

Fragments can only be used by one person. They have no durability but can crack, explode, or shatter by overuse. Once it's user breaks it, it cannot be repaired. Once the user dies or gives it up, it's powers cannot be used again by anyone else.

Fragments are created whenever someone gives up their unique or a certain part of it. Any unique can be given up. This can be done by saying an ancient, forbidden spell. Fragments are highly illegal, both because of the forbidden spell used to create them and for the possibilities randomly giving up and gaining uniques can bring.

They can become corrupt or unstable if the spell is not formed correctly or a unique's ability is too powerful. Uniques generally grow stronger as the user learns how to use it and advance it, so if an elderly gives up their unique, it'll likely be very strong and the fragment will be unstable. This is because the spell used to create them is meant for weak or average uniques. There has yet to be a spell for stronger uniques.

Corrupt and unstable fragments are usually easy to spot. They vibrate at an unsteady rate, are cracked, or radiate an uneasy energy. However, they can still be hard to detect but just as dangerous as normal unstable fragments (another reason they're illegal).

A person can unlock a fragment's ability by piercing themselves with it briefly, typically on the finger but anywhere works. From then on, the fragment has to be on the person in order for them to use it. Most people wear it as a necklace, bracelet, or other jewelry or clothing item, but others keep them in their pockets or bags. 

Anyone can use a fragment UNLESS they've created a fragment themselves. This means that people with or without a unique can use them. If the person already has a unique, they either gain a second (often called their "special ability" so they don't look suspicious) or it expands their current unique, depending on what unique is in the fragment.

(Before anyone asks: special abilities are NOT ALWAYS from fragments. Special abilities are a normal thing in most magical uniques. People who gain a second unique often refer to their second unique as a "special ability" in order to not look suspicious or get called out for being a fragment user)

(Also: If you are peirced with an unused fragment at all, even against your own will, you will still unlock it. This means you can force a fragment onto someone if you manage to peirce them with it)

SCUs cannot be fragmented. You cannot gain an SCU from a fragment or give it up into a fragment.

\----  
If you have any questions, feel free to ask :)


	2. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, chapters 1-8 are being uploaded today. This story was originally on Wattpad, so that's why :)  
> I don't know how long this story will be, but it'll probably be somewhere between 25-45 chapters (very specific, I know)  
> Also note at the end of the chapter :eyes:

Techno and Phil tossed the outlaws forward into the hands of the guards standing before them. They heard clapping off to the side as the royal guards dragged the men to the dungeons. Techno and Phil turned to see the clapping man. Dressed in a light blue royal robe with a golden crown on his head between two ram-like horns stood King Jschlatt with a smug smirk. 

“Thank you again, Elite Team! You never cease to amaze me with your work!” He complimented, crossing his arms over his chest. Phil and Wilbur smiled kindly at him, Techno offering a smaller smile, and Tommy giving his signature smug, confident smirk. 

“Is there anything else you need us to do?” Phil asked. Schlatt shook his head. 

“No, nothing for now. Connor will meet you on the way out with your money, and I’ll send Travis if I need you guys.” Schlatt smiled. The four nodded and began walking out. 

“Just don’t get into any more trouble, alright?” Schlatt called out, three of the four men chuckling because they knew who that was directed at. Tommy scoffed, shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath. Just as Schlatt said, they saw Connor approaching them on their way out. He gave them the bag of coins, thanking them for their work, before walking off. 

The four got into a carriage, telling the driver where to go, and started joking around. 

“Who does that man think he is, telling me to not get into trouble??” Tommy complained. 

“Uhhh, the king?” Techno deadpanned. Phil and Wilbur snickered and Tommy groaned. 

“I don’t even do anything that bad!” He claimed. Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

“You mean like how you almost set the tavern on fire that one time?” He asked. Tommy scoffed. 

“That was not my fault, that was Deo!” Tommy tried to defend himself. Phil nodded, but was obviously not buying it.

“Yeah, I’m sure you had no part in that whatsoever.” He smirked. Tommy nodded.

“Yeah! It was all Deo, not me!” He finished. The other three looked at each other before laughing. Tommy gave them all a confused look, but couldn't help the smile forming on his face as he tried to hold back a chuckle. 

“W-why are you all laughing! You all don’t believe me??” He said through a few small chuckles. The other three continued to laugh as Tommy tried to defend himself, which failed as he kept laughing.

The rest of the ride was similar, the four teasing and joking with each other until they arrived at their mansion. Phil paid the driver a little extra as the four exited the carriage and entered the moderate-sized mansion. Phil put away the bag of coins, then started on dinner as the other three were complaining about being hungry. 

They continued to joke around, mainly Techno and Wilbur bullying Tommy, until Phil called out that dinner was ready. They ate, still joking around with one another, and Tommy and Wilbur cleaned up when they were finished. Phil helped to escort Techno to his room, seeing as he wasn’t his normal self after all the bloodshed from earlier. He made sure Techno changed and got into bed, saying goodnight to him before walking down the stairs to make sure Tommy and Wilbur weren’t about to burn down the kitchen or each other. 

The three eventually made it to their rooms, slowly falling asleep. Sometime during the night, Techno shot up from his slumber in a cold sweat. He gasped for air, his breathing fast and unsteady. He clutched at his heart, eyes darting around the room. As he realized he was home and safe, he slowly loosened his grip on his chest and took a deep breath. He managed to steady his breathing after a few more moments, and threw the blankets off of him. Quietly, he made his way out of his room and to the balcony. 

Techno walked into the cool night air, feeling small goosebumps as it hit his skin. He laid his arms on the railing, leaning on it and looked up at the sky. The stars were twinkling, even through the few clouds present. The crescent moon in the sky shone brightly, lighting up the ground underneath. He enjoyed how tranquil everything was at night, listening to the light breeze as it passed through the trees. 

After a few minutes, he heard a pair of footsteps quietly approach behind him. He didn’t bother to turn around, already knowing who it was. A smaller figure appeared next to him, wrapping their arms around their chest in a self-hug. Their breathing was a bit unsteady, and Techno could sense their nervousness. He glanced down at the smaller boy, who was looking at the ground below the balcony. 

“You wanna talk about it?” He asked gently. Tommy looked up at him, anxiousness and a bit of fear in his wide eyes. He quickly looked away after their brief moment of eye contact and shook his head. 

“I-I’d rather not…” He responded quietly. Techno nodded, not pushing him any further as he returned his gaze up at the sky. After a few moments, Tommy took a deep breath and looked up at the sky as well, seeming to relax a little. Techno noticed that they were almost brushing shoulders, but he didn’t mention it or move away. 

One of the outlaws they captured had a unique that could present people their biggest fears. He had attempted to use it on Tommy, but seeing as Tommy’s unique is the near-immunity to any mental uniques or curses, it didn’t work. However, Tommy had a nightmare because of it, a nightmare that Techno could only assume was his greatest fears. He understands not wanting to talk about it, or why Tommy was standing so close to him. 

A few more minutes passed, at least what only felt like a few more minutes, before Tommy let out a yawn. Techno glanced over at him, and without any words the two made a silent agreement that they should probably go back to sleep. It was rare that either of them had a nightmare two times in the same night. 

They walked down the hall, saying a quick goodnight to one another before quietly separating back to their rooms, going back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discord server pog! https://discord.gg/QKhJd3H  
> Link never expires, so feel free to join no matter how "late" you may be reading this story <3


	3. Sparring Session

Wilbur, like most mornings, was the first one to wake up. He got up and messed with his hair a little, not feeling bothered to fully fix it yet. He changed into his day clothes and walked downstairs, noticing he was the only one awake. He wandered into the kitchen, seeing what they had to eat and wondering what to beg Phil to cook for him. 

After a few minutes of pondering, he heard footsteps climbing down the steps. Looking up, he was greeted by a very tired looking Tommy. Whenever they made eye contact, they both made irritated faces at one another. Without a word, Tommy walked into the living room and sat on the sofa, rubbing his eyes to wake up some more. Will went back to pondering on what to eat. 

Phil walked down the stairs soon after, more awake than the other two boys. Will started begging Phil for breakfast, and just like many other mornings, Phil agreed with an eye roll and started preparing breakfast. Will helped a bit with it, but mainly just watched Phil while Tommy whined for them to hurry up. After some bickering, breakfast was almost done as Techno finally made his way down the stairs. It was clear that his motivation for leaving his room was probably the smell of food, considering the fact he looked half-asleep and his hair was still a mess. 

“Do you even bother with fixing yourself up in the morning?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah, you look like you haven’t slept in 50 years,” Wilbur added. Techno sent a death glare to both of them, which quickly made the other two boys look away. He sat down at his normal spot at the table, Wilbur and Tommy joining him as Phil walked in with breakfast. Everyone got their plate and began eating. Breakfast was mainly quiet, a few jokes here and there, and afterwards they stayed at the table to start talking about their plans for the day. 

“Uhhh, I think Zak wanted us and his friends to have a sparring match today. I think he mentioned some of Darryl’s friends wanting to join in, too,” Techno mentioned. The other three nodded. 

“You mean Dream and them?” Phil asked. Techno nodded, and they all decided to get ready for a day of sparring. 

After getting dressed and washing up a bit, they made their way to an opening in the nearby forest. It was where they had their sparring sessions, and the Trio and the Dream Team also used it. It was a lot more private and easier to practice in for them rather than the arenas in the city. As the four made their way to the opening, wooden swords on their belts, they heard familiar voices ahead of them. 

“Oh my Godddd, no, this is going to be it, I’m finally gonna beat him at a sparring match! You all are going to feel like idiots for making fun of me whenever I win!” The familiar voice of Zak rang in the distance. A smirk tugged at Techno’s lips, the other three rolling their eyes and chuckling. 

“He's still on about that?” Wilbur asked. Techno chuckled. 

“Of course he is, he has been since we were kids! This man never gives up, despite always failing!” Techno responded, making the other three laugh lightly. They arrived at the meadow, seeing Zak, Darryl, and A6D already there. Zak turned to see the four, raising his wooden sword and pointing it at Techno.

“I’m gonna finally beat you today, Techno! You don’t stand a chance!” He declared. Techno rolled his eyes.

“Isn’t this what you’ve said for the past few years? And it still hasn’t happened?” He asked, crossing his arms. Zak became a bit flustered at this. 

“Well, I mean it this time! I’m actually gonna do it, just you watch!” Zak responded, slowly building his confidence back up as he spoke. Techno sighed and stepped forward, pulling out his sword and getting in a readied stance. Zak stepped forward and did the same, a determined look in his eyes while Techno’s expression just seemed blank. 

“Come at me then, loser,” Techno challenged. Just as Zak was about to launch his first attack, they heard distant yelling that seemed to be getting closer. 

“DREEEEAAAAMMMM!! STOOOOP!!” They heard an accented voice yell. Soon after, they heard running coming closer to them. They all let out a sigh and Darryl shook his head with an amused expression. 

Soon, two figures came running into the forest opening, running to Darryl and hiding behind him. Another man came running, clearly chasing them. He had a plain white mask on, only his mouth exposed. He was laughing as he slowed down, stopping in front of Darryl and the two men he was chasing. Just as they began to argue and bicker, Techno suddenly became aware of something approaching him. He swiftly turned and blocked the wooden sword swinging at him, an irritated groan escaping Zak. 

“Really?? You’re so desperate for a win you’re gonna try to catch me off guard???” Techno chuckled. Zak was about to respond when Techno took a step back, bringing his sword away from Zak’s only to swing it at the man, who wasn’t ready for it and got hit. Zak took a step back, holding his side where the wooden sword hit. Luckily, their swords were blunt, so there wasn't much concern for cuts or serious injuries. 

“Just ‘cause you can’t block while off-guard doesn’t mean I can’t,” Techno smirk. Zak groaned. 

“I want a rematch! That one doesn’t count, we got distracted!” Zak declared. Techno chuckled. 

“You’re the one who tried to attack me while I was off guard! The only reason it doesn’t count is because you didn’t win!” Techno exclaimed. Zak couldn’t stop the flustered giggling that left him.

“Shut up!! This one counts, and I’m gonna win!” Zak challenged, getting back into position. Techno let out another chuckle before getting back into position as well. 

The two continued to spar, Zak getting close a couple of times but Techno somehow always winning. Eventually they both got tired and stopped, allowing the others to spar as well. Phil and Dream decided to spar next, which was always interesting to watch. The two were pretty even in skill, though Dream was slightly better. However, Phil still won a couple of times, and the matches were always close. 

The three groups went on with sparring, one of the last matches being Darryl versus Tommy. To no one’s surprise, Tommy won all the fights. They all knew that Darryl was the weakest fighter, but he was still excited to give it his all. The others liked his confidence, but wished he was more willing to get better. 

“Darryl, you have so much energy, but you refuse to let us train you to get better!” Vincent exclaimed. Darryl rolled his eyes and had a small smile on his face. 

“Because, silly, I don’t care about getting better. I can already defend myself, I don’t need to get better,” He explained. Techno raised a brow. 

“You do realize what your job is, right? You won’t be able to take on the better missions if you don’t train and get better,” Techno questioned. Darryl shrugged. 

“I don’t mind,” He smiled. The others shared confused glances at one another, before deciding to let it go. Phil changed the topic.

“We should take a break for now and go get some lunch. Anyone have somewhere they want to go?” He asked. Darryl’s eyes lit up as he reached for his bag.

“Actually, I have food for everyone!” He exclaimed. The others either grinned or let out a light chuckle, crowding around him as he passed out food to everyone. They all chatted and joked as they ate, Dream and Sapnap trying to snatch the other’s food without them noticing. They were successful a few times, but the times they weren’t resulted in them getting chased until the other either gave up or caught them. 

After lunch, they decided they had enough sparring for the day, so they split off into their groups and went to do their own things. The Elite Team went back to their mansion, cooling off and deciding to help Wilbur write his next song. It wasn’t something they did often, but they all enjoyed messing around with bad melodies and lyrics. Sometimes it even leads up to an actual song. 

Wilbur, as much as he complained that the others knew “nothing about songwriting”, secretly loved it all. Even if they did force him to play really bad “chords” which included notes that should never be played together. They spent the rest of the day doing just that, however, and by the evening they actually made a really good song. Each of them had a vocal part in it, and for this reason, as well as the secret meaning behind the lyrics, they decided that it would be a song only they knew. 

“I can’t even sing this song on stage, now. I just completely wasted the entire day,” Wilbur scoffed. Techno chuckled, Phil rolling his eyes and Tommy gasping softly. 

“Wow, nice to know you appreciate our time together, Wilbur,” Tommy mumbled, making Wilbur chuckle.


	4. Bad News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed, chapter lengths are VERY inconsistent. Sorry about that :')

It started off as a normal day. The sky was only partly cloudy, birds chirping as a gentle breeze passed through the trees and grass. It was early spring, so the temperature was cool, but a comfortable coolness. Perhaps a bit humid for most people’s liking, but in this area, most of them were used to it. 

The Elite Team woke up, expecting nothing special to come from the day. They ate breakfast like normal, talked about what to do for the day, and decided they would just do their own thing. Tommy went out to meet with some of his other friends, Wilbur going out a bit later to perform early at the local tavern, and Techno and Phil staying home. Techno stayed in his room reading while Phil decided to clean up the house. Techno would’ve helped, but every time he tried, Phil would usually take over and just leave Techno standing there like a lost child. 

At about noon, a rapid knocking could be heard at the door. Phil stopped folding blankets and walked over, opening the door to see a concerned Darryl waiting outside. He seemed anxious, which was unusual for him. Before Phil could question it, Darryl spoke up. 

“Is Techno here?” He asked, a bit of panic in his voice. Phil nodded.

“Yeah, let me go get him real quick,” Phil responded, leaving the door open for Darryl to walk in as he glided to the stairs. He quietly cursed his large wings, being unable to fly up the stairs like he wanted to, and walked up to Techno’s room. The door was left ajar, so he gently pushed it open. Techno noticed the movement from the corner of his eye and glanced over. 

“Hey, Darryl’s here to see you. He seems pretty worried about something,” Phil informed him. Techno nodded, putting a slip of paper in the book as a bookmark before getting up and following Phil down the stairs. Darryl was sitting on the couch, nervously tapping his leg. When he heard walking, he looked over and stood at the sight of Techno. 

“Techno! I’m so sorry to bother you, but do you think you could come over for a bit? Zak went out for a while and came back with someone he said was from his hometown, and after some time his old friend- Zalk, I think?- came down and left seeming a bit… guilty. When I went up to check on Zak, he was crying and wouldn’t tell me what happened or what was wrong. You’re the only person I could think of that might be able to help him, or at least the only person who might be able to find out what's wrong,” Darryl ranted, making various hand gestures as he talked. Techno’s eyes filled with concern and he nodded. 

“Uh, sure, I can try to talk to him,” He responded. Darryl let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you,” He smiled, then started towards the door. Techno looked over to Phil, the two sharing a look and nodding to one another as a silent bye. Techno followed Darryl out the door, and since the Trio didn’t live far from the Elite Team, they walked the distance. Well, more like they jogged to the decently-sized house the Trio lived in. They slowed down and walked in, Darryl pointing to the stairs.

“He’s in his room,” He told Techno. Techno nodded, walking up the stairs to Zak’s room. He could hear quiet sobs from the other side, so he knocked on the door gently. 

“Zak? Can I come in?” He asked gently. There was a pause, before stomps could be heard from the other side. The door swung open to reveal a red-eyed Zak, fresh tears still present on his face. His eyes widened, before a look of anger came over his face. He forcefully pushed past Techno, the latter not resisting as he stood there confused. Zak stomped down the stairs, looking at Darryl with anger in his eyes. 

“Why did you bring him here?!?” He asked angrily. Darryl tensed for a moment, seemingly confused. 

“What do you mean, Zak? I thought that he could help you,” Darryl responded with a gentle tone. Zak clenched his fist. 

“Why would I want HIS help?!?” He growled. Darryl flinched, before giving Zak a confused look. By this time, Techno was standing on the bottom step, watching in confusion and concern. 

“W-well, you two have known each other for a long time, so I thought-”

“Why the hell would I want him here?? What makes you think he’s going to offer any help to me?!?” Zak growled. Darryl was about to respond before Techno spoke up.

“Zak? What happened? Did I do something wrong?” Techno asked. Zak turned to him, anger and sadness present in his eyes as fresh tears began to form in them. 

“You wanna know what happened, Techno? You really wanna know what happened?!?” Zak challenged, his voice growing louder as he spoke. Techno flinched, nodding hesitantly. 

“Wither happened, Techno! Wither killed my sister!”


	5. What Happened?

Techno froze for a moment, eyes widening in shock. Fresh tears fell down Zak’s face, before he stormed back upstairs and slammed his door close. Techno remained frozen, Darryl still as well. Darryl slowly turned his gaze to Techno, who shook his head and brought himself back to reality. 

“Wither…?” Darryl questioned. Techno looked away, then waved his hand to dismiss it. 

“She's… uh, no one… I think I should probably go, I don’t think I’m the person Zak needs to see right now,” Techno managed, his voice low. Darryl seemed concerned, but just nodded. Techno kept his gaze down as he made his way out the door, walking back to his mansion. He walked in, going straight to his room and closing the door. He leaned against the door, his eyes on his feet. 

I guess it's now or never, isn’t it?

Tommy and Wilbur were back by now, waiting in the living room as Phil made dinner. They were doing their usual bickering until Phil came in and told them dinner was ready. The two boys got up and sat at the table, getting their plates after Phil put the food down. He looked over at the empty fourth seat, furrowing his brow.

“Where's Techno?” He asked. The two shrugged as they started eating. Phil left the dining room, making his way up the stairs and to Techno’s room. He gently knocked on the door.

“Techno? You in there?” He asked. He heard light shuffling inside.

“Yeah, what is it?” Techno responded. Something sounded off about his tone, but Phil couldn’t place it so he decided not to question it for now.

“Dinner’s ready whenever you want to come down and eat,” Phil told him. There was a small pause. 

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a second,” Techno responded. Phil made his way back down the stairs, walking back into the dining room and sitting down. He began to eat, the other two boys looking up at him a bit confused. 

“Is he coming?” Wilbur asked. Phil nodded, and a few seconds later they heard a door open. The stairs creaked as someone walked down before Techno appeared in the dining room, sitting down at his normal chair. He grabbed a plate and got food, but the others noticed something off about him. Not only did he get less food than normal, something also just seemed different about his mood. The three shared concerned glances.

“Techno? Are you alright?” Wilbur asked gently. Techno looked up at him with an almost blank stare. He paused, then nodded. The other three looked at each other again as Techno stared down at his food, picking at it.

“Are you sure? You’ve been in your room ever since you came back from the Trio’s. Did something happen?” Phil asked. Techno’s breath hitched, then he let out a sigh. 

“Yeah, but I don’t really know if I should talk about it right now,” Techno mumbled. The other three nodded and decided to drop it. After a few moments of silence, Tommy spoke up and they began joking. Techno didn’t say much, but he seemed to crack a few smiles at their jokes and bickering here and there. 

Wilbur and Tommy agreed to clean up, the two of them and Phil making a silent agreement that Techno should probably rest for now. Techno went upstairs back to his room, Phil staying in the living room while the other two cleaned the table and kitchen. Whenever they heard Techno’s door close, Phil got up and stood at the side of the large doorway between the dining room and the kitchen. 

“Do you think they got into some sort of argument or something?” Tommy asked. Phil paused, then shook his head.

“Darryl came to get Techno, and when he did, he seemed panicked and concerned. Apparently something happened to Zak, and Zak didn’t tell Darryl what happened, so he got Techno to try and find out what happened to him. I’m guessing something may have happened to someone they both knew or maybe something just happened with Zak, so he may just be trying to cope with that,” Phil explained. Tommy nodded, and Wilbur thought.

“Well, if something happened to Zak, wouldn’t Zak tell Darryl and Vincent? So something must’ve happened to someone they both know,” Wilbur tried to reason. Tommy and Phil thought, then nodded.

“Yeah, maybe. But, for now, we should just give him his space. He’ll tell us when he’s ready,” Phil smiled. The other two nodded, finishing their cleaning. The three walked up the stairs, saying goodnight to each other before splitting up in their separate rooms. 

That night, Tommy awoke from a nightmare. It wasn’t as bad as some of his other nightmares, but he still needed a moment to breath and collect his thoughts. The cool night air always helped him, so he got out of bed and quietly made his way to the balcony. He walked onto it, taking a deep breath as the cool night breeze hit his face. 

Whenever he glanced down at the ground, something caught his eye. He looked over and saw a figure standing a few feet in front of the back door. They seemed to be staring up at the sky, their back to the mansion. Tommy squinted his eyes, and recognized the figure through the darkness as Techno. He debated on saying something, but then figured that it was best to stay quiet. Techno didn’t seem to notice Tommy, and if he did, he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk to him right now. 

Tommy returned his gaze up at the sky. After a few minutes of clearing his mind, he took one last deep breath before turning to go back inside. He shot one last glance at Techno, who seemed to be in the exact same position as before. It was like he was a statue, and Tommy questioned whether he was even breathing for a moment. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then stepped inside. He went back to his room, passing Techno’s room and noticing the door was left ajar. However, he didn’t think much of it as he walked into his room, closing the door and going back to bed.


	6. Urgent Mission

The next morning was quieter than most for the Elite Team. While Tommy and Wilbur still did their usual bickering, Phil doing his usual scolding of the two, Techno remained quiet. The other three didn’t want to be too loud or talk too much, just in case Techno was ready to open up about whatever happened the day before. They wanted to give him chances to speak up and talk about it without directly asking him, but he never did. 

When breakfast was over, they all made their way to the living and sat down. As they were talking about what to do, there was a knock on the door. Phil got up and opened it, seeing the familiar face of Travis, the royal messenger. Like always, he was accompanied by two guards, but unlike most other times, he had a concerned and almost scared expression on his face.

“King Jschlatt has sent me to get all members of the Elite Team for an important mission. He wants all of you at his castle as soon as you can, this is very urgent. The only other information I have is that the Trio will also be helping on this mission, and should arrive at the same time you all will,” Travis explained. His speech was a bit quick, especially for him, but Phil understood every word and nodded. Travis turned to head to what Phil assumed was the Trio’s house without his usual wave, which concerned Phil even more as he closed the door. He turned back to the others, all of them looking a bit confused. 

“Get ready. We need to go to the castle for an important mission,” Phil told them, even though he knew they all heard what Travis said. They all nodded and quickly got up to go to their rooms in order to prepare. 

Phil was first at the front door, only needing to get his swords in case of immediate danger. Wilbur was next, his guitar on his back and sword on his belt. Tommy came in, Techno soon after him. Without a word, the four left the mansion and hopped in a carriage, telling the driver where to go and that they needed to get their fast. The driver hesitated, but the team promised him extra coins if he sped up. 

Majority of the ride was silent, all of them wondering what this urgent mission could be. When they were about half way there, Tommy finally broke the silence.

“What do you think this could be? I mean, yeah, we’ve been called on urgent missions before, but we’ve never been hired with another group unless it was to train them, and I don’t think the Trio needs training…” Tommy mumbled. Phil and Wilbur nodded, but Techno seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he stared out the window. Tommy glanced over and noticed it was just like the night before; he was still, almost like a statue, and he questioned whether he was even breathing for a moment. 

However, the silence returned as none of them knew what this was. For as many missions as they’ve been hired for, and for as many of them have been urgent, they’ve never been automatically paired with another group. Usually, they were hired alone, and if they thought they would need help after starting the mission, that's when they would request help. It was never an automatic pair by Schlatt himself, it was always at their request, so what could this mission possibly be about? 

They arrived at the castle, all of them getting out as Phil handed the driver more coins then he meant to. However, he didn’t care since they weren’t exactly desperate for money, and he was too concerned with other things at the moment. The four made their way into the castle and to the lobby, their pace quick yet it still felt like the world was slowed down. Techno had a bad feeling about this…

The four entered the lobby, two guards standing at the entrance to the hallway that lead to the throne room. The four approached, but the guards stopped them. 

“King Jschlatt wants to see you and the Trio at the same time, so you will have to wait for them to arrive before you may see him,” One of the guards explained. The four nodded and backed away, waiting in the lobby for the other three to arrive. Techno finally seemed to be present in the real world now, but all of them were too anxious to say anything. They always got anxious when they got called onto urgent missions, as none of them were easy or simple, and they were even more anxious for this one. 

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity to them, the Trio finally stepped in. They seemed just as nervous as the others did. Techno and Zak shared a glance for a moment, Zak’s eyes showing a bit of regret. Techno shrugged and looked away, his way of accepting Zak’s silent apology for his outburst yesterday. Zak seemed relieved at this, but was quickly brought back to their situation when the guards moved and motioned for them to go down the hall. The two groups walked down the hall and to the throne room. Two more guards who stood at the door allowed them in where King Jschlatt awaited them. He was pacing around in front of his throne, seeming nervous. When he noticed the seven men walking in, he stopped to look up at them. His eyes showed a mix of emotions, mainly consisting of panic and worry. 

“Good, you’re all finally here. I’m sorry to do this to you guys, but I think you guys are my only hope for this. Ignore any other solo missions any of you may be doing, as this should be the one to take priority,” Jschlatt started. The tone in his voice matched the look in his eyes, and he seemed to be organizing his thoughts as he spoke. 

“This mission is going to be very difficult, which is why I’m hiring you both without asking first. In fact, you may need more help with this mission, and if you do feel free to hire anyone you see fit. I don’t even care if they’re mercenaries or not, just hire who you think should be the most helpful,” He continued. The two groups shifted a bit nervously, wondering what could be making Jschlatt so nervous. He was usually composed, even in the most stressful situations, so seeing him like this didn’t ease their anxieties at all. Schlatt seemed like he was about to ramble again before Connor walked up and elbowed him lightly, giving him a soft glance. Schlatt looked over at him and nodded, taking a deep breath before turning back to the two groups with a serious expression. 

“There is a rising danger in the east that I need you guys to take care of. Someone has begun overtaking villages and hiring very dangerous people on their side. Their intentions seem to be to take over this entire kingdom. Whenever I first heard about it, I laughed. Seeing as this isn’t an uncommon thing to happen, however I sent out a group of decently-powered mercenaries to stop them, and only one came back alive, severely injured. When I sent a group of soldiers, only a few came back barely hanging on to life. I don’t want to risk sending anyone weaker out, so now I figure is the time to call you guys before this group gets even stronger,” He explained. The men nodded as they listened. Schlatt continued. 

“From what they said, there seems to be two leaders of the group, both female. Both seem capable of handling themselves in battle, though only one attacks with their fighters. Their names or nicknames are Wither and Ender,” Techno’s breath hitched and he froze once again. Zak tensed, then shot a glance over at Techno, who was just looking at the King with a blank expression. Darryl furrowed his brow, recognizing the name from the day before, and looked over at Zak and Techno. Neither of them looked back, so he turned back to the king. 

“Ender’s unique is dragon wings and horns. We’re not sure if Wither has a unique or not. Either way, neither should be underestimated, as well as their allies. Unfortunately, we don’t have much information on how many allies they have, or even who most of their allies may be. I didn’t want to send you all on this mission with such little information, but I feel that I shouldn’t hesitate any longer than needed. I don’t want to gather information while they’re potentially gathering more allies and attacking more villages, so I needed to hire you guys as soon as I could,” Schlatt explained. Some of them nodded. 

“While I don’t have any time limit for you all, I suggest you finish this mission as fast as possible, but try to gather information so you don’t go in blindly. And please, for the love of God, don’t get yourselves killed.” Schlatt finished. They all nodded. Connor glanced over at Schlatt before looking back over at the men. 

“We will discuss your rewards whenever you come back, hopefully with the mission completed. Hire whoever you need to, and don’t waste time coming to us to ask whether it's alright. We’re trusting you to do this, but don’t be stupid about it. If you ask around in the east towards Greentop, you should be able to track them down,” Connor added. 

After a few more bits of information, the two groups made their way out of the castle, now standing in front of it. Techno trailed behind, keeping his gaze down. Zak slowed to match his pace with Techno, giving him a concerned look. Techno glanced up at him for a moment before turning away. His expression was blank, and Zak seemed to get the message as he let out a sigh. The two looked up, noticing that two carriages were called for the two groups, and they went into their respective carriage. The ride back to their mansion was even more quiet than the ride to the castle, and both carriages stopped at the Elite Team’s mansion.


	7. Discussion

The two groups got out and walked into the mansion, everyone sitting in the living room. After a few moments of silence, Phil finally spoke. 

“Alright, everyone. We need to find out as much information as we can about this group and these two girls. If we don’t, who knows what we’ll get surprised by. We don’t know what type of plans or tricks they may have, and we don’t even know how many allies they have. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?” Phil asked. Zak looked up at Techno with questioning eyes. Techno looked back and shook his head. Zak hesitated, then sighed and looked away, keeping quiet. Phil noticed this and furrowed his brow.

“Alright, listen here, you two. I don’t know what happened yesterday, but you two better get on good terms quickly, we can’t afford any grudges against anyone here,” Phil stated. The two looked up and nodded. 

“We’re fine now, don’t worry,” Zak assured him. Darryl looked at the two, then furrowed his brow. 

“There’s something you two aren’t telling us. You know something about this ‘Wither’ girl, don’t you?” Darryl questioned. Both men tensed. Zak hesitated. 

“Uh, well she's-” 

“Don’t.” Techno interrupted him, his voice stern. Zak tensed and noticed the threatening look in his eyes. After a moment he nodded. 

“Well- Techno and I… know her. As well as Ender… We… grew up in the same town,” Zak said carefully, watching Techno to make sure he wasn’t saying anything Techno didn’t want known. Wilbur sat up. 

“Well, do you know their special abilities? Their weaknesses? Wither’s unique?” He asked. After a confirmation glance from Techno, Zak nodded. 

“I don’t think Ender has any special abilities or anything. Wither’s unique is, uh… actually, I don’t think she has one…” Zak said, looking at Techno. Techno hesitated, then sighed. 

“She does. She grows stronger the more people fear her,” Techno corrected. Zak nodded, and Vincent sat up, speaking up for the first time of the day.

“So basically, we can’t fear her at all. In fact, we’d probably have to fight her early in the morning, in order to make sure she doesn’t stockpile on fear or something,” Vincent concluded. A couple of them nodded, others letting out a sigh. 

“How are we gonna figure out how many allies they have?” Tommy asked. They thought, then Darryl perked up.

“Wait, Jschlatt said we could get anyone we wanted to help, right? I could ask the Dream Team if they could help, they’re really good at sneaking around places and getting information,” Darryl offered. The others thought, and it was a unanimous agreement between them. 

“You should probably go get them now so we can all plan this together,” Phil suggested. Darryl nodded, getting up and waving at them as he left the mansion. After he left, the others sat in silence. Vincent turned his head towards Zak and Techno, even though he couldn’t see them. 

“There's something you two aren’t telling us about them. You do realize that this is a deadly mission, and keeping secrets about our enemies isn’t exactly a wise idea, right?” Vincent stated. Even though he had a blindfold over his eyes, they could tell he was giving them a stern expression. Zak looked down, a bit guilty, but Techno furrowed his brow, almost in anger. 

“We don’t need to tell you everything about them. We’ve told you their uniques, and that's all you really need to know for now. If we need to tell you anything else, then we will, but for now that is all we know that you guys need to know,” Techno stated in an almost defensive tone. Phil furrowed his brow at the two.

“I may not know your relationships with these two girls, but none of that will get in the way of this mission, right?” Phil asked, suspicious. Zak nodded, then shot a concerned look at Techno. Techno nodded as well. Phil stared at them for a moment longer before nodding. 

They were all quiet after that, lost in their thoughts until the door opened. Darryl walked in with the trio of thieves behind him, the three seeming a bit unsure and confused. The four sat down, and Philza and Darryl took over explaining the whole situation to the three. The three listened carefully, taking in every detail. 

“So you want us to, what, find this group and get information about them?” Sapnap asked. A couple of the others glanced at each other and nodded. 

“But we aren’t going to send you out first. We’ll all head east together, then you three will split off and get whatever information you can. We can talk about it more when we get there, but for now, are you guys in or not?” Phil asked. The three looked at each other before nodding. Dream smirked. 

“So how much are we gonna get paid?” He asked jokingly. Darryl let out an annoyed sigh, a couple of the others smirking or chuckling. 

“We don’t know yet. Just help us, please?” Darryl responded, his eyes pleading. Dream let out an amused chuckle.

“Calm down, Bad. I was joking. Of course we’ll help. But first, we’ll need to get prepared. We don’t know what we’ll face, so it's better to stay here for a few days to stock up on supplies and even train for a bit,” Dream said, his tone getting more serious. They all nodded, and discussed what items they’d need.

They’d need stealth items for the Dream Team, health items for when they all fight, as well as strength potions. They’d also need plenty of food and clothes, as well as weapons. They all knew their primary weapon and knew for a mission like this, they’d need to stick with it for as long as they can. There were a few other items and ideas thrown around, ones that would be decided on later. For now, they all agreed to take the next 3 days to prepare and train. They would all meet up on the afternoon of the third day at the Elite Team mansion, and if they don’t need anything else, then they’ll head off the next morning. The Dream Team and the Trio left the mansion, heading back to their own places to prepare.

The four sat in the living room, thinking of what they should do first. There was still a good amount of time left in the day, and they knew they should start preparing as soon as they could. Techno stood up, looking at Tommy. 

“Tommy, you should go ahead and get some of the items we need. Philza, you should get the other items and figure out how much stuff we’ll be able to carry. Wilbur, you need to go to the tavern to tell the owners you won’t be showing up for a good while. I’d estimate at least a few weeks,” Techno told them all, looking at them whenever he was talking to them. They each nodded, understanding what they needed to do. Tommy and Wilbur got up, heading to the door. Phil hesitated, waiting inside until the other two were outside. He turned to Techno with a somewhat concerned glance.

“Are you going to be alright, Techno?” He asked, concerned. Techno paused, then nodded. His expression was blank, and Phil didn’t get the small smile he was hoping for. He let out a small sigh before heading out the door. 

Techno stood still for a few moments before letting out a sigh. He made his way to their weapons room and looked at all the swords. He pulled a few from off the walls and from some out of boxes, laying them out on the table which was in the middle of the room. There were quite a few options; some short swords for Philza and Wilbur, and some long swords for himself and Tommy. He picked up a couple of the long swords, giving them a few test swings to see which one he felt most comfortable with. He found one and put it in an empty bag which laid under the table. Whenever the others came home, he would get them to test out the swords he picked out to see which ones they were most comfortable with.

But for now, he headed out the backdoor and walked to the nearby pond in the forest right behind the mansion. He passed through their garden as he made his way down the familiar path to the pond. Once he reached it he leaned his back against a tree and slid down, bringing one knee to his chest and letting his other leg stretch out in front of him. He took a deep breath.


	8. Preparations

Over the course of the next three days, the three teams prepared. Each group got items they needed or thought would be useful, and they each got some training done. Some of them focused on techniques they were rusty at, some tried something new, and others focused on what they were already good at. They didn’t do too much training, though, as they didn’t want to tire themselves out or get sore. 

Tommy went to his friends, Deo, Tubbo, and Bitzel, and explained that he was just called on an urgent mission by the king. He got the items the teams would need from the three, seeing as the items he wanted weren’t exactly legal and they were his best connections to what he needed. The three wished him good luck and told him to be careful, reminding him of some of the boundaries a few of the items he got. He assured them that he would be alright and that he knew how to use them, and with that, he said goodbye to the three. 

Philza went out to get the legal items they needed. Wilbur gathered all the pets from all the teams and went to their friend Hannah’s house. Hannah was happy to take them in and care for them, as well as find out more of the team’s secrets considering her unique was being able to understand animals. Techno mainly trained, practicing a few new combat techniques he had learned recently. Zak, Dream and Vincent met him at their sparring area a couple of times, the four sparring until they felt it was enough for the day. Darryl had taken George and Sapnap out to their archery spot where he helped them with their aim and power. He also tested a new bow he had recently got, making sure to adjust himself to it before they left, as well as a new set of throwing knives. 

On the afternoon of the third day, all three teams met up at the Elite Team’s mansion, just like they had planned. They all brought bags full of supplies they’d need. Darryl, Dream, and Philza all had several maps, each of different areas and on different scales so they could figure out where to go first. After some planning, they figured out the towns they would travel through and where their first major spot would be for getting information. It would take a few days to get there by carriage, and since they didn’t need to do any more preparing, they decided to go through with their original plan of leaving first thing in the morning. 

That night, the three teams stayed at the mansion. It would be easier to get everyone up and ready if they were all in the same house, and there were enough spare rooms for all of them to stay. A couple of them had to share a room, but they didn’t mind. Before they went off to sleep, though, they all sat in the living room, talking and joking around. The three teams didn’t often get together and talk, so it was nice. It was nice to act like nothing was wrong in the world, even if it was just for a night. Even if they all knew the next few weeks were going to be hard and dangerous. Even if they didn’t know what the outcome of this whole situation would be. 

A few hours after dinner, they decided to go to sleep early in order to wake up earlier. They all went to bed after quick goodnights, going to their rooms and one by one falling asleep. 

Techno, however, couldn’t sleep. Just like he couldn’t sleep the past few nights. He laid restless until he finally gave up and got out of bed. He quietly made his way to the balcony, stepping forward and leaning on the railing as he stared up at the night sky. 

The black sky was filled with bright, twinkling white dots. The moon was bright, lighting up his face as he stared up at it. His expression was calm, but his mind was racing. His thoughts were clouded with anxiety, worry, concern, and panic. That’s why he was out here, in order to try to calm his thoughts at least a little. Even though he knew it probably wouldn’t. 

He heard footsteps behind him. They paused a few feet away, before continuing forward until a figure stood next to him. He glanced over, instantly recognizing the smaller boy. He had black hair that faded to blue and the warmth of his tan skin was difficult to see in the moonlight. After a moment of silence, the boy spoke up. 

“Are you sure you can do this?” Zak asked, his voice gentle with concern as he glanced over at the taller. They made eye contact for a moment, before Techno looked down at the ground below them. 

“Do I really have a choice?” He asked, his deep, usually monotone voice sounding almost defeated. Zak looked away, not responding. After a few moments of silence, Zak sighed and gently grabbed the taller’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

“Just don’t push yourself too hard, alright?” Zak asked gently. Techno gave him an unsure glance before looking back up at the sky. The two stood there for a bit longer, neither keeping track of time. Zak was the one to finally break the silence. 

“C’mon, Techno. We should probably go to sleep now, it's late enough,” Zak said softly. Techno glanced over and nodded, the two walking quietly back into the house. Techno and Zak said goodnight before Techno split off into his room, Zak continuing through the hall and down the stairs. Techno got into bed and tried to relax, his lack of sleep over the past few nights finally hitting him as he slowly drifted off to sleep.


	9. Travelling

Wilbur and Darryl were the first two to wake up. Whenever they saw they were the only ones awake, Wilbur suggested waking up Philza so he and Darryl could make breakfast for all the others. Darryl agreed so Wilbur woke Phil up, him and Darryl making breakfast as Wilbur waited at the table. Slowly, all the others woke up and walked in, making small talk and cracking a few jokes as breakfast was finished. Phil had to wake up Techno and Darryl had to wake up Zak, as everyone else was awake and had begun eating. Once the two were awake, they got to the dining room and began eating. Both of them were quiet, which was usual for Techno in the morning but unusual for Zak. The others brushed it off as them both being a bit stressed and anxious. 

Everyone was quick to finish breakfast and everyone got their bags and supplies. After a quick check to make sure they had everything, the three teams walked out of the mansion and got three carriages, one for each team. The Elite Team had two carriage drivers they hired to take them on missions since none of them knew how to control horses, and the Trio had one as well. They decided they would stop at a small village that would take about half the day to get to, seeing as they would all probably be hungry by then. The ride there had no issues, with the occasional yelling and loud laughing from one or more of the carriages, leaving the other teams confused as to what was happening. 

About midway through their trip to the first stop, the Elite Team carriage got a bit quiet. Wilbur and Phil seemed to be thinking while something was still off with Techno. Tommy let out a groan, and the other three mentally prepared themselves for the question they knew was coming. 

“Are we there yet?” Tommy whined. Wilbur glared at him, annoyance clear on his face. 

“I dunno, Tommy, does it look like we’re there yet? Do you see the village in sight?” Wilbur snapped at him. Tommy rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I meant how much longer until we get there?” Tommy mumbled. Wilbur leaned his head back for a moment before looking at Tommy, a bit frustrated. 

“Then bloody ask ‘how much longer until we get there’, not ‘are we there yet’!! Those are two completely different questions!!” Wilbur exclaimed. Tommy was about to rebuttal until Philza cut in. 

“Can you two just shut up and stop arguing for once?? Tommy, we’ll get there when we get there, now stop asking!” Phil said. The two glared at each other for a moment before looking away. 

“Alright, father,” Tommy mumbled. Phil just rolled his eyes, but Techno turned his head and looked at Tommy. His previously tensed shoulders eased a bit. 

“Hey, don’t talk to your father like that! That's just disrespectful,” Techno joked, though his tone made him sound serious. Phil and Wilbur laughed while Tommy scoffed. 

“It's not like he's my actual dad, Techno! Y-you know this!” Tommy exclaimed. Techno chuckled. 

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure he is,” Techno asked with a smirk. Tommy rolled his eyes. 

“Yes, Techno, Phil is my real father,” Tommy deadpanned. Techno laughed, as well as the other two. They all took note that Techno seemed to be acting like his normal self again, which filled them with relief. 

Not long after, the village finally came into view and the carriages stopped at a feeding spot for the horses. The teams all got out of their carriages. Zak rushed out of his carriage holding a small pouch out in front of him, Darryl chasing after him. Vincent was slow out the carriage, a blank expression clear on his face through his bandana. Darryl managed to catch Zak and tackled him to the ground, grabbing the pouch and standing up. Zak was crying of laughter, curling up on the ground. Darryl shook his head, annoyed, attaching the pouch onto his belt and walking back to Vincent. 

Meanwhile, the Dream Team exited their carriage like normal people, though they were bickering about something. It was nothing more than playful banter, though, and they were all hiding smirks. The Elite Team also left their carriage like any other normal person, Tommy first out with Wilbur right behind him. 

“We’re here now, Tommy,” Wilbur sighed. Tommy looked at him with a blank expression.

“Well, yeah, I can see that, Wilbur,” Tommy commented. Wilbur facepalmed. 

“If you can see that, then why did you keep on asking ‘are we there yet’ when we clearly weren't here!?” Wilbur asked. Tommy opened his mouth to respond before Techno let out an annoyed chuckle. 

“Oh my God, can you two just shut up about that? You’ve been arguing about it the entire ride!” Techno asked, an almost pleading tone in his voice. The two turned away from each other with annoyed expressions. 

“Well, maybe if Wilbur-”

“Nope! You two are not about to start blaming each other! This conversation is over, alright?” Phil interrupted Tommy. Tommy let out a groan before he and Wilbur both nodded and mumbled an agreement. Phil and Techno took in a breath of relief before they all turned and noticed the two other teams approaching. 

“I’m starving, where are we going to eat?” Darryl started off the conversation as all the teams gathered in the same place. Everyone paused and thought, some of them mumbling amongst themselves. Philza spoke up. 

“We actually pass through this town a bunch, so we know where a lot of the good places are. There's a small place at the end of this road, actually, that's pretty good,” Philza suggested. The others all nodded and mumbled some sort of agreement. Philza and his other team members led the way, seeing as they all knew where Phil was talking about. The other two teams followed, small chatter and joking filling the air around them as they made their way to the end of the road. 

They entered the small building and found a place to sit. They had to separate into two groups, five at each table. Skeppy sat with the Elite Team while the Dream Team and the other two Trio members sat at the other table. They ordered food and waited as they continued to chat. Their food came after a few minutes and they ate with no problems. After a bit more talking and paying, they all got up and left, making their way back to the carriages. After making sure everything was alright and nobody had lost anything, they all got back into their carriages. 

Except, there were a few seating changes. The three teams managed to shove Sapnap, Tommy, and Skeppy into the same carriage so the rest of them could avoid the never-ending question of “are we there yet?” Darryl, Dream, George, and Vincent all decided to go in the same carriage, leaving three of the four Elite Team members to stay together. They were all happy with their new groups, aside from Sapnap, Tommy, and Skeppy, and they started their ride to the town they would eat dinner at and stay the night in. 

Aside from the constant bickering and arguing coming from the trio of unhappy and impatient men in the last carriage, the ride went along smoothly. They arrived at the next town towards dusk, all ten of the men exiting their carriages. The three in the last carriage all rushed out, running to their friends only to instantly yell at them for forcing them to ride together. 

“That ride was terrible! You guys know how much I hate Sapnap, and Skeppy wasn’t helping at all! Please, never put me with those two again!” Tommy whined, his eyes pleading. He started rambling on about how “terrible” it was, and even though his three team members rode in the front carriage, they still heard the yelling. 

Phil made sure to pay that carriage driver extra, even though he was the driver for the Trio. 

The three teams found a place to eat and found a decent inn to stay the night at. They booked three rooms, one for each team, and said goodnight to the other teams before heading off to their respective rooms. After some more chatter and joking, they all eventually fell asleep.


	10. First Destination

The three teams woke up and left the inn, finding a place to eat breakfast before getting in the carriages and heading off to the next town. The next week and a half went by like this, not very many problems arising on their journey so far. Any problems that did pop up were minor and easily solved, like Skeppy somehow managing to lose his diamond clip before A6D of all people was the one to find it. 

After a week and a half of traveling, they finally made it to their first major spot for finding information. They had arrived in the town midday and immediately booked a couple rooms in an inn. They all gathered in the biggest of the three rooms to start planning. 

“Alright, I think we should start by asking some locals if they know anything going on. This is also one of the towns that a lot of the survivors are staying at, so we should try asking them as well. However, only a few of us should try speaking to them, and the others will talk to the locals,” Dream started. The others all nodded as he glanced around at them, and he continued. 

“I think me, Bad, Philza, and Wilbur should talk to the victims. The rest of you should try to get information from the locals,” Dream instructed. Everyone seemed alright with this except for two people. Tommy, being one of them, spoke up.

“Wait, why shouldn't I talk to the victims?? I’m good with words, I’m sure I can get some info out of them,” He asked. Dream groaned. 

“Tommy, you’ll talk to the locals. I don’t trust you enough to not say something stupid to the victims. Keep in mind the victims went through a traumatic experience and the last thing they need is someone saying something stupid about their trauma,” Dream responded, a hint of annoyance in his tone. Tommy looked offended and turned to Phil for some type of help or reassurance. Phil shook his head with a stern look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Tommy, but Dream’s right. It would be better for you to talk to the locals rather than the victims,” Phil stated. Tommy looked disappointed but sighed and nodded. After a moment of silence, Techno spoke up.

“Uhhhhh, can I be left out of this one? Talking isn’t exactly my strong suit…” Techno asked awkwardly. Dream seemed annoyed and opened his mouth to reject but Wilbur spoke up. 

“Yeah, I think we should have someone on standby, keeping watch just in case something happens. Although we aren’t too close to the groups, you never know how close their allies are or what they could be planning,” Wilbur suggested. He smirked. “Plus, yeah, Techno is really bad at talking to strangers,” He joked. Techno chuckled and punched him on the arm playfully. He looked like he wanted to deny what Wilbur said, but knew he couldn’t. Dream thought before sighing in defeat.

“Fine, but try to make yourself useful and don't just sit around the inn all day,” Dream told Techno, a small smirk pulling at his lips. Techno rolled his eyes. 

“Actually, I was thinking about sleeping all day, that way I could leave all the chaos to you guys,” Techno smirked. He could feel the eye roll even behind Dream’s mask. 

“Sure, whatever,” Dream smirked. 

“Are we gonna go now or what?” Vincent interrupted, causing the others to glance at them. Dream took in a breath and nodded. He instructed them all where to go and informed them where he was going so they hopefully wouldn’t have any overlap. Techno agreed to patrol the town and look for anyone who may be a threat, as well as check in on their rooms to make sure no one would steal their stuff. After everything was settled, they all went off to fulfill their duties. 

When the sun began to set, everyone met back up at the inn. They went to go get dinner and decided they would talk about the information they gathered whenever they returned to the inn, just in case anyone listened in on their conversation. Nothing special happened at dinner and the three teams made their way back to the inn, going into the biggest of the three rooms again and gathering around. Except, Techno decided to stay by the door and leaned against it. The others gave him a questioning look. 

“I’ll just chill here, in case anyone tries to listen in,” Techno said. George raised an eyebrow. 

“What makes you think anyone knows we’re here?” He asked, confused. Techno shrugged. 

“You never know,” He responded simply. The others just shrugged and turned to each other, beginning to talk about what they found out. 

Together, they gathered that the group they were after were rumored to be allied with another very powerful group, nicknamed the “killer survivalist”. They were a group of criminals who seemed to be able to live in the most secluded of places, places you wouldn't think are possible to live in for long periods of time. They live deep in the forest, far from most towns and villages. However, they are very territorial, and even go terrorize nearby villages to make sure people stay away from them. Seeing as they mainly kept to themselves, they weren’t ever seen as much of a threat, but now that they were allied with Wither and Ender, they would need to be dealt with. 

Of course, Wither and Ender didn’t travel alone. They had others around them to protect them and “take out the trash” whenever commanded. Not much is known about these people, though. The three teams decided that they would try to find out more information the next day and spend the whole day asking around. The three teams parted to their separate rooms, all of them having hushed conversations about what they should do. 

“How many people do you think they’re allied with? How powerful do you think they all are?” Tommy asked, his tone nervous. The others were all looking down or away as they paused, hoping someone else would answer the younger’s question. Phil finally bit the bullet and sighed. 

“We don’t know, Tommy. That's what we’re trying to figure out. Just remember not to rush into anything, alright? Everything will be fine as long as we take our time,” Phil answered gently, offering Tommy a small, reassuring smile. Tommy stared at him for a moment with hopeful eyes before looking away, doubtful.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” Tommy mumbled quietly. Phil looked down, a bit guilty. Wilbur, who was previously laying down, sat up and looked at Tommy with a gentle gaze. 

“He has a point, though. We can’t rush this. Obviously, none of us can promise that everything will turn out ok, but we have to at least somewhat hope that it will, otherwise there's no telling what will happen to us,” Wilbur explained. Tommy nodded, seeming to understand. He glanced at Techno to see if he would pitch in, but Techno didn't seem to be paying attention. He was staring out the window at the night sky, his expression blank. 

Tommy felt a tinge of disappointment knowing that Techno wasn’t going to add on his own “wisdom”, but he decided it was best to let it go. The rest of the evening was quiet before they all said their goodnights to each other and went to sleep.


	11. Eavesdropper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be a bit longer, and the chapter after will be more action-packed, I promise :)

The next day, the three teams went to gather more information as soon as they finished breakfast. Techno stayed behind just like the day before in order to keep watch of their stuff and of their surroundings. Since everyone had their own money, they decided they would eat lunch separately and on their own time, that way they didn't have to waste any time trying to wait for each other or find a place that they all wanted to eat at. 

Techno got bored pretty quickly, as nothing interesting was happening. He debated going out to get information for a moment, but he quickly shot this idea down as his social anxiety spiked at the thought of approaching a stranger and asking them about something they might have no idea about. He just sighed, walking around and continuing his “patrol”. 

At dusk, all of them met up at the inn. They went out and ate dinner, returning to the inn soon after and entering the largest room like the night before. Techno stayed by the door just like the previous night as all the others exchanged information. A lot of the information they got either overlapped with the information they already had or was useless, like vague descriptions of their allies like “a male with brown hair and brown eyes.”

Midway through their discussion, Techno took note of soft footsteps coming down the hall. He didn't think too much about it, seeing as there were multiple people other than them staying at the inn. However, the footsteps seemed to slow as they approached the door, and he could hear a faint creek come from the floorboards as the person tiptoed closer. They seemed to stop close by the door, but not directly in front of or next to it. Techno grew suspicious and listened for any further movement. There had been a couple of times where he misjudged footsteps before, so he wanted to make sure this wasn't another misinterpretation before acting. He tuned out whatever information was being passed around the group and focused solely on the footsteps. 

Except there weren't any, not for a good amount of time. Techno knew he didn’t hear the footsteps walk away or a door open around them, so he decided he would finally investigate. He took a step forward from the door, spinning around on his heel and swinging the door open. As he took a step forward out the door, he heard the footsteps turn and start to sprint away. He rushed out and looked down the hall, not getting a clear look at whoever it was. All he saw was a normal-looking human figure with bright red hair and a mainly red outfit before they disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall. Techno debated chasing after them but decided against it, taking a step back into the room and closing the door. 

He turned around to face the group, all of them now quiet and looking at him with confused or concerned glances. Techno leaned against the door, crossing his arms as he looked at them.

“Someone was listening in. I didn’t get a good look at them, though, but watch out for someone with bright red hair,” He informed the group. The others all nodded. 

“Do you know how much they heard?” Phil asked. Techno thought.

“They were only there for a couple of minutes at most, so probably not too much,” Techno replied. 

“Is it safe to start talking again?” Dream asked. Techno nodded and after a moment the group began talking again. Techno was on higher alert now as he listened in the hallway for more footsteps, but he didn't hear anything else suspicious. The others finally ended their discussion and turned to Techno, the silent question of are we good? clear in their expressions. He nodded, and after a few more words, they decided that they would leave the town in the morning to head to their next destination. They all said goodnight to the other teams before heading back to their respective rooms.

“So, wait, was there actually someone listening in to our conversation?” Tommy asked Techno. All of them were sitting down on their beds, two on each bed as there were only two beds. Techno nodded.

“Yeah. As I said earlier, I didn't get a good look at who it was, but I think their favorite color is red. They were wearin a lot of it,” Techno responded. The other three nodded. 

“Do you think they're working for Wither and Ender?” Wilbur asked. Techno held back the urge to flinch at the names, which the others took note of but didn't say anything. 

“I would assume so,” Techno responded. 

“So they're sending spies on us now? How do they know we’re coming?” Wilbur asked. Techno went quiet as he looked down, a troubled expression on his face. The others glanced at him but decided to stay quiet, just like before. 

“Do you think there's a spy in the city or the kingdom?” Tommy asked. 

“It's possible,” Philza replied, the others noticing Techno was still quiet. However, his expression was neutral now, though he still was looking down. 

“Techno? Are you alright?” Wilbur asked gently. Techno looked up at him then nodded. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” He said, though his tone wasn't very convincing. The others chose not to push any further. After all, Techno always came around, so he would tell them if something was wrong. Sooner or later, he always talked to them about it, so surely this time wasn't any different… 

...right?


	12. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE, I WAS SLOW WRITING THIS CHAPTER THEN I GOT DISTRACTED BY MY PHONE COMPLETELY DYING AND HAVING TO FIND A WAY TO FIX IT OR GET IT REPLACED! Updates should continue as normal after this, I promise!!

After waking up and eating a quick breakfast, the teams went through with their plan of leaving the town. After making sure everything was packed, they entered their carriages and rode off. 

After two days of travel, the groups had made it to their new destination. This time arriving in the evening. They checked into an inn and went to sleep after deciding they would do the same thing they did before whenever they woke up. 

They awoke the next morning, ate breakfast, and went off to gather more information. Techno patrolled around just like last time, though this time he was on higher alert. They were closer to the groups now, and if there was someone trying to listen in on them in the last town, there was a much higher chance that someone else would do something similar here. However, on his patrol, he didn't see much suspicious activity, at least nothing more than he would normally see in any given town. 

Dusk came around and after dinner the teams all discussed what information they got. This time, they had a bit more useful information, though a lot of it still overlapped. They kept hearing mentions of the Killer Survivalists group, so they decided to be on the lookout for them once they got in the area the group typically resided in. The more information they got, the more and more likely it seemed that the two girls they were after were teamed with them. 

“Why would they ally with a group like that, though? I mean, it's not like they're known for going out and causing chaos or anything. They stay in their one spot most of the time, so what's the advantage of teaming with them?” Wilbur asked. Unfortunately, no one had a clear idea as to why they would. Zak shot a glance over at Techno, who looked away. He hoped the smaller wouldn't ask about it, and to his relief, Zak just sighed and turned back to the group.

“Maybe…” Sapnap started, everyone turning their attention towards him. “Maybe they wanted to expand the area they controlled. I mean, haven't they controlled the same small area of land for years now? Wouldn’t they want to expand it? They’ve probably gotten bigger since they first started, meaning they’ll want more room to live in. So, maybe Wither and Ender promised them more land if they work together,” Sapnap proposed. The others all nodded, as it did seem like a valid explanation for it. 

“So, uh… does anyone have any information on who exactly they are? I mean, yeah, I know as a group what they are, but does anyone have any ideas on their uniques or how many of them there are?” Tommy pipped up. 

“Uhm, I don't think there are a lot of them. I'm pretty sure there are under ten,” George replied, hoping someone else could give more information. 

“I know there are at least three of them, but there could be more,” Darryl replied. Dream rolled his eyes. 

“Great, so there could be anywhere between three and ten of them. That isn't a very specific number,” Dream crossed his arms. George and Darryl rolled their eyes. 

“Do you have any more information on them?” George raised an eyebrow. Dream shook his head, making George scoff. 

“Well, at least we’re giving out information. Some information is better than none,” George said, making Dream sigh. 

“Even if the estimate is pretty broad, there seems to be a good chance that we outnumber them. That's at least something,” Wilbur added. 

“Maybe, but we still shouldn’t underestimate them. We shouldn't act like just because we outnumber them, we have the upper hand. That's the type of attitude that’ll get us killed,” Phil stated, the others nodding. Vincent straightened his posture and turned his gaze to Darryl. His blindfold was off now as he managed to look directly at Darryl with his grey eyes. 

“How do you know there's at least three of them? Do you know who they are?” he asked, suspicious. Darryl turned to him before his eyes lit up with realization. 

“Oh yeah! I got some information on the three main leaders of the group! It's not much, though,” Darryl said. Zak raised an eyebrow. 

“Are you gonna share?” He asked. Darryl nodded.

“Yeah. They’re all male and all of them have brown hair and pale skin. One of them apparently is very, uh, hairy,” Darryl chuckled. “Another one has some sort of slime related unique? I don't know exactly, there were a lot of varying opinions on it,” He added. 

“Then the last one, I’m not sure if he has a unique or not, but apparently he's very good with a bow and arrow. He could have an air related unique,” He finished. A playful smirk tugged at Dream’s lips. 

“Are you saying you have an air related unique? Is there something you need to tell us, Bad?” He teased, referencing the fact that Darryl is pretty damn good with a bow. Darryl just rolled his eyes, a small smile forming on his face. 

“No, silly. Fine, he may just be really good with a bow, but he still could have a unique,” Darryl said. The others chuckled or shook their heads. There were a few moments of silence before Zak glanced at them all. 

“Is that all the information we have?” He asked. Everyone shrugged, glancing at each other to see if anyone else would speak up. Whenever no one did, they started discussing whether to move on to the next town or stay another day and see if they can gather more information. It was decided that they would, once again, leave in the morning to go to their next spot. They all said goodnight to the other teams and split off into their separate rooms. 

The Elite Team were silent whenever everyone left their room. They quietly said goodnight to one another before falling asleep.

\---

They awoke the next morning and went on their normal schedule. At least, they tried to. As they were packing up their stuff, Techno looked up from the bag he was carrying and noticed a familiar silhouette. When he studied it, he recognized the red hair and pale skin, along with the red and white outfit. It was the person who was listening in on them in their last town. 

The person, a male, was talking to someone else, and to the untrained eye, was just making vague hand gestures. To Techno, though, he was making motions toward him and his group, and Techno knew the male was talking about them. Techno squinted at the two, trying to decide what to do. He could walk up to them, but the two would likely notice him coming and run away. Before he could really decide, though, the male in red glanced over and did a double take whenever he saw Techno staring at them. 

Techno scowled at them, to which the men’s eyes widened in shock before they turned and sprinted out of sight. Techno’s gaze lingered a moment longer before he turned back and continued to his carriage. Sapnap, however, noticed the whole thing and decided to walk up to Techno. 

“What was that about?” He asked, Techno glancing at him with a slightly surprised expression. 

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Techno tried to dismiss, but Sapnap narrowed his eyes. 

“Why are you lying? Who were those men?” Sapnap pushed, Techno shifting his weight uncomfortably. He hesitated before letting out a sigh. 

“One of them was the guy who was eavesdropping on us the other day. I don’t know who the other guy was,” Techno admitted. Sapnap’s gaze lingered a moment longer on him before he finally eased up and looked away. 

“Alright, whatever you say,” he said before walking away. Techno held back a scoff. 

“What, do you not believe me?” He asked, almost offended. Though, at the same time, he was holding back a chuckle. Sapnap waved his hand dismissively as he continued forward. 

“No, no, of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” Sapnap smirked, glancing back at him. They both chuckled before each of them continued to pack up their things. 

\---

After two more days of travel and gathering information, they finally reached their first place of conflict. The town was occupied by a smaller portion of people than expected for its size, as a lot of it's original residents had fled in fear of the nearby danger. While the town itself wasn’t under attack, it was very close to the “Killer Survivalists” group, which due to the rumors was a cause for panic. 

The team had trouble convincing the inn owner to let them stay for multiple days, but once they informed him they were mercenaries there to stop the group, he happily gave them the rooms. He also offered them some free things in hope it would help them, but none of it was really useful to them. 

Since they had arrived at sunset and booked the rooms as the sun had just set under the horizon, they decided to settle in for the next few days and get plenty of rest for what the next few days would bring.


	13. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is when the story starts getting serious, so be warned from this point on there will be a lot more mentions/descriptions of more serious and sensitive topics. Mainly: fighting, gore (though not too descriptive), and some strategies/methods used in war that I can't tw directly without it being a spoiler. The only thing I will guarantee is there won't be any sexual themes. 
> 
> TW: small mention of a cut in the last paragraph

Techno awoke with an uneasy feeling in his chest. He shot up in a panic and looked around the room, surprised to see he was the first one awake. The window was letting in the dim, early morning sun, a bird’s choir breaking the otherwise deafening silence. For a moment, he questioned whether he woke up from a nightmare he just couldn't remember. No, he thought, I always remember my nightmares, so why am I awake now?

A nearby door slamming followed by footsteps rushing down the hallway of the inn broke him from his thoughts. He threw the blankets off of him and jumped out of bed, trying to be quiet but mainly focused on discovering what was going on. Tommy, who was lying in the same bed Techno had just left, groaned quietly in his sleep and adjusted his position. Techno rushed to the door and opened it, glancing down the hallway, seeing a running figure disappear behind a corner. 

Techno closed the door behind him as he chased after the figure. He turned the corner, seeing the figure opening the front door of the inn and rushing out. Techno followed, pushing open the door and running into the humid early morning air. Techno chased after the figure, and slowly as his eyes adjusted and he gained on them, he realized the figure was Zak. His eyes widened. 

“Zak!” Techno called out, making the boy in front of him stop and spin around with wide, surprised eyes. He eased up whenever he recognized Techno, who had finally caught up and stood in front of him.

“Zak, what's going on? Why are you in a rush?” He asked his friend, concerned. Zak’s eyes were full of panic and worry. 

“Vincent disappeared! Darryl and I don’t know where he is! He left sometime last night but never came back! Darryl and I have been searching all morning but we can’t find him!” Zak explained in a panic. Techno nodded.

“Do you have any idea which direction he went in?” Techno asked. Zak shook his head.

“No! That's what makes it even worse!! He could be anywhere!!!” Zak responded, his emotions clearly frazzled

“Calm down, Zak. Panicking isn’t get you anywhere. I can wake the others and we can all look together, alright?” Techno offered.

Zak took a deep breath and nodded, “Thank you, Techno,” Zak said, unable to even force a smile on his face. Techno gave him a small smile, though. 

“Just keep looking, okay? We’ll find him sooner or later,” Techno reassured him. 

Zak nodded before turning and running away to continue searching. Techno took in a deep breath, his face hardening into a determined expression. He turned and ran back to the inn, rushing to his room and swinging open the door. 

“Guys, wake up! Now! We need to help the Trio!” Techno demanded. The others, all being relatively light sleepers, stirred but weren’t completely awake yet. Techno rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, guys. Get up! This is serious!” Techno pushed. Phil lazily sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Wilbur groaned, rubbing his eyes as well. Tommy let out a whine as he turned over in bed.

“Can’t it wait? I want to sleep now,” Tommy mumbled, annoyed. Techno sighed, irritated. 

“No, it can’t. Vincent disappeared and we need to help find him,” Techno stated. Wilbur sat up at that, Tommy opening his eyes and throwing down his covers, and Phil jumping out of bed. 

“What?! What happened?!?” Wilbur asked, his voice tired but his mind wide awake. He threw his legs over the edge of the bed, looking up at Techno as Tommy sat up and rubbed his eyes, Phil straightening his clothes. 

“Apparently, Vincent went out sometime last night and never came back, so now Zak and Darryl are out looking for him. I told Zak that we would help look, so get up already,” Techno informed them, turning towards the door after they all nodded.

“I’m going to get the Dream Team now, go out and start searching whenever you guys are ready,” Techno stated, opening the door and speed walking to the room the Dream Team were staying in. He began knocking on the door but soon started to pound on it a bit more rapidly. He stopped once the door swung open, revealing a tired-looking Dream. Techno could feel his glare through his mask.

“What?” Dream demanded tiredly. 

“I need you and the other two to get up and get ready. Vincent disappeared last night and we all need to go out and look for him,” Techno informed him. Dream seemed to sober up a bit more and straightened his posture. 

“Wait, what happened? Do you have any idea where he went??” Dream asked, the tiredness in his voice draining. 

“Not really. He apparently went out sometime last night and never came back. I don’t know where he went,” Techno responded. Dream nodded.

“Alright, I’ll get the other two ready and we’ll head help out,” Dream responded. Techno nodded and turned as Dream shut the door. Techno saw his three teammates exiting their room and they all quickly made their way out of the inn. The group divided in order to cover more ground as they all began searching for their lost friend.

At about midday, Zak, Techno, Philza, and George bumped into each other and decided to discuss their findings… which was nothing. They decided to send Phil out to fly around the immediate area surrounding the town. Whenever he took off, the others glanced at each other and decided they would look around the perimeter as well, as Phil may miss something if it's hidden under the trees. 

It was a couple hours later whenever they all looked up and saw Phil flying towards the inn, a bloodied mark on his cheek and some tears in his clothes.


	14. Kidnapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for slower updates recently. I started classes so expect slower updates, about once a week, from now on. Please don't rush me/ask for the next chapter, I promise I'm trying to actually finish this story. 
> 
> Also, in case you aren't following my Tumblr, I added a new thing called "fragments" to the AU. You can find it in the "Character/World Information" chapter at the bottom of the chapter. Don't be afraid to ask if you have any questions :)

Phil flew around the town, a bloodied mark on his cheek and tears in his clothes. Whenever he saw any of his friends, he would fly down to them and tell them to go back to the inn immediately. Some of them, like Tommy and Wilbur, asked what happened to him, but he told them he would explain it all once they were all together. Once he had told everyone to go back to the inn, they all met up in the Elite Team’s room, Phil being the last one to enter and closing the door behind him. 

“Phil! What happened to you? Are you alright?” Wilbur was the first to speak up, clearly concerned about his childhood friend. Phil let out a sigh, pulling his sleeve over his hand and rubbing the small mark on his cheek.

“I… I’m fine, but I found Vincent,” Phil responded, his tone serious. Darryl and Zak both perked up, shoving their way to the front of the group. 

“Really?? Where is he?!” Zak started.

“Is he alright?!” Darryl continued. Phil raised his hand, signalling them to be quiet and let him talk. 

“Vincent has been kidnapped by what I assume to be the Killer Survivalists group. I didn’t try to go after him because I knew I wouldn’t be able to save him alone, but whenever they saw me, they started shooting at me. Turns out Darryl was right, one of them is hella good with a bow and arrow,” Phil explained. A lot of them visibly tensed or widened their eyes with concern. 

“Where is the group located?” George asked. 

“Southeast of here. They aren’t actually that far of walking distance, which is the scary part,” Phil answered, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously. 

“Did you see how many of them there were?” Sapnap asked. Phil thought.

“I only saw 4, but I’m pretty sure there were more. I didn’t see how many more, though,” Phil responded. Sapnap and a few others nodded. 

“We need to get Vincent out of there. I’m not going to leave him there so they can do- bad things to him,” Zak stated, determination overtaking his concern. It was still clear to the others that anxiety was eating him up inside. 

“Woah, slow down. We all want to get Vincent out, but we need a plan first,” Dream stepped forward, Zak glancing over at him. 

“But planning takes too long! He could be dead before we even start!” Zak protested. 

“Actually, I think that if they were going to kill him, they would have done so by now,” Wilbur said. “They kidnapped him and kept him alive for a reason, so we should plan out what we’re going to do,” he continued. Zak narrowed his eyes, seemingly not happy with that idea. He glanced at Darryl, hoping Darryl felt the same way and could back him up. Darryl looked over and let out a sigh, shaking his head. 

“They’re right, Zak. We should have a plan before we go in there. I want to go there and save him right now just as much as you do, but it isn’t the smart thing to do,” Darryl said. 

“You can’t be serious,” Zak stated in almost disbelief. Darryl gave him an apologetic look, Zak looking back at him wide-eyed. He glanced around at the others, who’s expressions were neutral or concerned. Finally, Zak groaned. 

“Fine, but we can’t take forever,” Zak said. Everyone else nodded. 

“Geez, and you all call me the whiny one,” Tommy mumbled. Techno elbowed him in response, earning an annoyed glance from the younger. 

After a moment, Wilbur turned to Phil, “Well, Phil, you know the most about where he is, so why don’t you tell us about it?” Wilbur asked. Phil nodded, taking in a deep breath. 

“It’s like a campsite. There are around 10 tents I believe, I didn’t get to count properly. Most of them are set up in a broad circle with… I think a training ground in the middle? Then there are two larger tents set up outside the circle, almost across from each other. One of them has a firepit in front of it. I didn’t get to study it much more than that before I got shot at,” Phil explained. Wilbur nodded. 

“Are there trees around it or is the area cleared out?” Techno asked. Phil looked over at him.

“There’s trees surrounding them and even a couple in their ‘base’ or whatever,” Phil responded. Techno nodded, then furrowed his brow in thought. After a moment, he spoke up again.

“We have the rest of today to come up with a plan. We need to go and save him tomorrow morning, as early as we can,” Techno instructed. Zak spun around and looked at him with a baffled expression.

“Tomorrow?!?! We can’t wait until tomorrow! They might kill him by then!! We need to go tonight!” Zak nearly shrieked.

Techno looked at him with a stern expression, “No, we need to go tomorrow. If we spend the next hour or so to come up with a plan and go tonight, we’re probably gonna get sneak attacked cause there are places in the trees they could hide in. We need to wait until daylight, where it’ll be easier to see them,” Techno stated. Zak looked like he wanted to argue back, but he couldn’t come up with anything so he just huffed. 

“Fine. but you all better get up in the morning so we can go as quickly as possible,” Zak said. The others all nodded. 

“Well, yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t we get up quickly?” George scoffed. Dream chuckled and glanced at him.

“Says the one who took the longest to get out of bed this morning,” he teased, making George gasp and punch him playfully. 

“Not true!” George claimed, though it was clear he was holding back a smile. Before they could continue, Tommy spoke up.

“Uh, guys, we should probably start on this plan. We’ll probably need as much prep time as possible with something like this,” Tommy said. George and Dream nodded, some of the others nodding as well. 

And with that, they all began their plan on how to save Vincent and possibly take out the enemy group while they were there.


	15. Rescue Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I am aware of some of the drama some of the cc's in this story have been through, especially recently. However, I will not just make them "disappear" from the story, as I've had this story planned out for quite some time and don't want to change anything as major as removing a whole character. Therefore, the story will continue as normal. This does not mean I necessarily support the cc or what they did, it just means I see them more as a character in my story now. Please don't get offended by this :)

Zak was quick to get everyone up the next morning soon after he woke up. The sun was barely rising, and even though the others knew this was important, they were still annoyed at how early it was. Whenever everyone had awoken, they quickly ate breakfast and got their supplies together. 

“Come on!! You guys take forever!!!” Zak whined obnoxiously, impatiently bouncing on his heels in front of the door. Techno let out an annoyed sigh. 

“Zak, if we go out now, we’ll have the same disadvantage as we would’ve last night. It’s still fairly dark, we need to wait a bit longer for the sun to rise some more so we can see clearer,” Techno explained. Zak let out a groan but knew better than to argue back with Techno. 

As the sun rose a bit more, they finally set off southeast of the town, where Phil said the camp was located. They decided to send the Dream Team out a few minutes earlier than the rest of them since they had more experience with quietly sneaking into places, even in the dark. The two other teams quickly made their way through the town, and once they hit the forest they slowed a bit and walked quietly, all of them on high alert. Techno was in the lead with Zak right next to him, Darryl right behind Zak. The others trailed not too far behind. 

“Guys, we should be careful now. I’m pretty sure the campsite isn’t too far ahead,” Phil warned. The others nodded and crouched down a bit as they continued forward. A movement in the trees above caught Techno’s attention and he looked up. He relaxed a bit whenever he saw it was Dream. Dream jumped down quietly from his tree branch and motioned them all to get close. 

“Alright, so we’ve already scouted out the area and it seems like they’re all awake now. However, we don’t see anyone on patrol or anything. So, George and Sapnap are hiding in different areas around the camp. Currently, we’re northwest of the camp. So Techno and Tommy, you’ll meet with George in the east. Zak and Phil, you’ll meet with Sapnap in the south. Will, Bad, you’ll stay here with me. Sapnap’s team is going to cause a distraction, seeing as the tent they have Vincent in is closer to where we are now,” Dream explained.

“Whenever Sapnap’s team gets their attention, George’s team is going to take care of the ones who stay behind. I highly doubt the whole team is going to chase after Sapnap’s group, especially since we’ve only counted five of them,” Dream continued. Darryl raised a brow.

“So what are we going to do?” He asked. Dream glanced at him.

“We’re going to rush into the tent they have Vincent in to try to save him. If we run into anyone, I’ll handle them,” Dream responded. Darryl nodded. Dream looked around at them.

“George and Sapnap will explain anything else they need to. So, does everyone understand?” Dream asked. Everyone nodded, and without hesitation, they split off to go to where they needed to go. 

Sapnap explained to Zak and Phill the distraction. Zak and Sapnap would let out a yell (or scream in Zak’s case) and run off. Just as their pursuers started chasing them, Phil would call after some of them in order to draw a couple of them away. Sapnap and Zak would run in a very large circle that eventually led them back to the camp, and Phil would follow a similar route but in the sky. 

George explained to Techno and Tommy that they would wait for Sapnap’s group to make the distraction. After some people were led away, they would rush in with their weapons out and start fighting the remaining members. Dream’s group would then rush into the tent Vincent is trapped in, hopefully facing no troubles, and rush out. They would all start fighting the group from there if Vincent wasn’t too injured, otherwise they would all flee as best as they could. 

A couple minutes passed as the three groups gave the others time to prepare. Finally, they heard two yells in the south and the five men in the middle of the camp shot up from their places. They all grabbed their weapons and shot glances at each other. After a few nods, three of the five raced towards the direction of the yells and began chasing them away from the camp. The other two stood on high alert with their weapons ready. 

The three men who chased them looked similar yet very different. One of them was a bit bigger than the other two, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, as well as a beard. He wore mainly greys and blacks with a purple fragment around his neck. He carried a golden sword. The second one had short, light brown hair with light brown eyes and wore a red jacket with black accents over a white shirt. He carried a bow and arrows. The third one had light brown hair with dark brown eyes, and he seemed quite a bit hairy than the other two… or, anyone for that matter. He wore a black jacket with a white undershirt and carried a diamond axe. 

George’s group rushed into the camp with their weapons out and the two men looked over at them. They rushed towards each other and immediately started combat. 

Techno was taking on a man with short, brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore mainly black with a white undershirt and had rainbow bands on his wrists. He had a blue helmet on his head, and his skin was pale with an almost… greenish tint to it. Techno could tell immediately that the man was good, and he shouldn’t underestimate him in the slightest. 

Tommy and George were taking on a man with slightly darker skin and short brown hair. His eyes were dark brown and he wore a red jacket with a green and orange hood, split in the middle. He carried a diamond sword. Despite it being two versus one, Tommy and George were having a lot of trouble against this one man. It quickly became clear to them that they needed to put in their all. 

Dream’s team waited for George’s team to continue combat for a few moments before they rushed into the larger tent Vincent was in. Dream was first to rush in with Wilbur and Darryl close behind. Dream only made it a couple of feet into the tend before he froze. It took the other two a moment to see what had caused Dream to freeze.

A few feet in front of them, Vincent was tied up on the ground. However, the thing that made the three freeze was the two men standing beside their friend. Both men were already prepared with weapons in their hands, probably due to the commotion they heard outside. 

One of them had paler skin and wore mainly green with black accents. He wore a green smiley mask, very similar to Dream’s white smiley mask. He held a diamond axe, though a sword was sheathed on his side. The other man wore a white shirt with purple accents and black pants. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. He had a diamond sword at the ready. 

Dream quickly pulled out his emerald sword and cursed under his breath. Bad pulled out his bow and Wilbur readied his axe.

Darryl had a bad feeling in his gut.


End file.
